Your newest asset
by SammyJammy
Summary: Steve and Tony are happily married. What happens when their teenage daughter Charlie, decides she wants to become an avenger too? Will the secret relationship she is in rock everyones world. Will their worlds still be in tact for them to be rocked? WARNING: Rated M for a reason. More for future chapters. Details of Violence, Non/Con and some smut/lemons thrown in too thrown in too.
1. Chapter 1

Pacing back and forth in the hanger bay, Charlie was listening carefully to what was happening on the ground below her through the comms. She was desperate to get off the hellicarrier and join the avengers. To join her fathers.

"Did these guys seriously think that they actually stood a chance against us? This supposed _fight_ is easier than Nat's warm up for training!" Tony's voice rang in her ears.

"If it's so easy, let me off the damn hellicarrier so I can get my hands dirty!" Charlie exclaimed to one of her fathers.

"Charlie, don't use that tone with your father," Steve reprimanded the teenager.

"Sorry dad, sorry papa," she apologised.

"Charlie, I still don't like the thought of you being down here and in harm's way," Steve started to explain.

"Papa, please! You guys promised!" Charlie moaned.

"Sweetheart, we just don't want anything to happen to you," Tony supplied with a grunt as took down another target.

"Dad, I've been training for this pretty much my entire life. Nothing will happen. At some point, you have to cut the umbilical cord and let me make my own decisions, my own mistakes. I need to learn how to fight my own fights. Dad, Papa, I know you only want to protect me, and I love you both for that. However at some point you have to let me grow up. I'm nearly 18, I'm a trained assassin. I can do this. Please, let me prove to you that I can take care of myself," Charlie pleaded her case. Everyone was quiet over the comms for a few moments. Partly to take in Charlie's words, and partly to focus on some of the targets that were still trying and failing to make any headway with their efforts against the avengers.

"Dads..?" Charlie probed, looking for some kind of acknowledgement.

"The lady has a point guys. She's not a child anymore. The training wheels have to come off at some point," Clint defended Charlie. "Give her a shot. We are all here to watch out for her. There is no real danger here, and if that were to change, she would be the first one back on the hellicarrier. She's right though. She is trained for this kind of thing, but there is only so much you can learn from simulations and sparring with a Demi-God."

Down on the street, Steve and Tony locked eyes across the fallen bodies of some of their attackers, a silent conversation being held between their gaze. Steve sighed heavily as the wordless conversation with his husband came to an end.

"Ok Charlie, let's see what you're made of. Get your butt down here. Have an agent drop you near the park." All anyone heard after that was a squealing ringing through their ears.

"Geez, Charlie! We're still trying to concentrate down here. Stop squealing!" came Clint's voice over their earpieces. Charlie managed to stop bouncing just long enough to apologise to her team mates.

"Sorry, Sorry! I'm on my way down. Leave some baddies for me!" she demanded as she bounded up the ramp of the waiting quinjet that would take her down to the fight she so desperately wanted to be a part of.

While Agent Smith was flying her to the drop off zone, Charlie took the time to check over her weapons and do some last minute stretches. She wasn't going to let something stupid like a pulled muscle give her fathers an excuse to keep her out of any future battles. As she was placing her knives back in their sheaths, she both felt and heard the familiar sensations associated with Thor's thunder. _Crap, there will be nothing for me to do_ she thought impatiently. The ramp had started to lower as the jet was still descending down to the ground. She jumped off the end before the jet had even grazed the grass, so eager to join the fight. Charlie heard the rumbling roar of the Hulk, a few seconds before she seen a flash of green cut across her path. She chuckled to herself as she watched the target that Hulk was after was sprinting for his life, having completely under estimated the anger of the green giant. She could hear gun fire and faint shouting from the other side of the buildings she was set down near to. Taking off, she manoeuvred debris and the fallen bodies of the intruders. Rounding the corner, the young assassin spotted her father's working together to take down a small group of the warriors, Steve using his vibranium shield to reflect the blaster from Tony's suit to take them all out with relative ease. As she jogged over to them, it didn't go un-noticed by Charlie that the fight was basically over, and there would be very little for her to do. _Bloody typical,_ she moaned to herself.

"Hey, what happened to leaving some for me?" She questioned.

"Sorry honey. One of them took a shot at Thor from behind, so he and Mjolnir got a little angry and took out the majority of who was left," Tony explained to his daughter after lifting his face plate. Charlie huffed as the rest of the Avengers gathered in the middle of the street, minus Clint who was still watching from the rooftops.

"Break it down, Cap. Though from what I can see, should just be clean up now, " Hawk-eye advised from his vantage point.

"Sounds good, Clint. I want you to stay up there though and keep an eye out, just in case. Girls, you scout out the outlaying streets for any stragglers. Tony, Thor and I will search the wreckage here for any clues as to who they were, and what they wanted," Steve ordered in his Captain America voice. Hulk gave a low grunt to inform the captain that he had been missed when he was handing out new assignments.

"Banner, I think this stage requires a little less muscle, and a little more finesse. Maybe now is a good time for a nap," Steve told Other Guy calmly. This managed to get through to the scientist. Hulk huffed in agreement, and headed off towards the nearby quinjet to receive the antidote that Dr. Banner himself created in order to calm himself down enough to let the scientist take control of his body again.

"Right then short stuff, looks like you're with me," Natasha told Charlie with a ruffle of her mahogany waves.

"Short stuff?" She questioned her trainer with a quizzical, yet playful look on her tan face. "I'm taller that you are Nat, even if I wasn't wearing these heels," the teenager reminded the short super spy.

"HEELS?!" Tony and Steve exclaimed in unison.

"Seriously, are looking for a broken ankle? God, just how high are those things anyway? Most definitely not appropriate footwear for a battle, Charlie," Tony scolded the youngster.

"Geez, over react much?" Charlie exclaimed. "Come on Nat, let's leave before they find out about the knives I have in my boots, and the pistols strapped to my thighs." She joked.

The Russian assassin laughed as they headed out towards where their captain had directed them.

"You need to have a word with _your_ daughter about sensible footwear for battles. I seriously don't know where she gets it from" Tony told Steve as the girls jogged away from the scene in search for any remaining attackers.

" _Me?_ Honestly babe, that's all you." The super soldier chuckled in response. The couple ambled over towards Thor, who had started to sort through some of the wreckage of their encounter with this unknown enemy. He was holding one of enemy's weapons, turning it over in his large grasp and looking at it sceptically.

"Gentlemen, I believe you should both take a look at this," he said in greeting to his comrades. Steve took it from the demi-god, taking a quick glance over the general design.

"What about it? It looks like a crappy and ineffectual little blaster,"

"Let me see that. Seriously, you know nothing about weapons honey," Tony stated, taking the weapon from the super soldiers firm grasp.

"And you do, man of iron?" Thor quizzed, watching the scene unfold in front of him.

"I used to make these kind of things for a living. Before…before Afghanistan," Tony reminded him, shaking his head, trying to rid the terrible memories that threatened to return about his time in the Middle East. "As soon as I got back to the states, I ceased all development and manufacturing of weapons. I only do it for the Avengers now, to ensure we are all at the top of our game." The genius looked back down to the weapon in his grip, going over all the finer details that Steve skipped past so quickly. Thor noticed what had caught Tony's attention. It was the reason why he wanted the other men to look at the firearm in the first place. He pointed to the logo that was emblazoned on the side of the barrel.

"This looks oddly familiar, but I know not from where," The tall blond volunteered. Steve and Tony's eyes immediately fell upon the design. Steve had seen the insignia before as well, but could also not remember where from. Steve could feel a tingling sensation spread down his spine, alerting the captain that something was about to become seriously wrong. His eyes immediately snapped up and locked with beautiful dark hazel ones that he could easily get lost in. The panic and fear that he could feel spreading through his nerves was mirrored in the genius' eyes.

"It has to be the same organisation that keeps sending those laughable threats to us and to Shield." Tony stated.

Steve shook his head in confusion. "Shield has analysed every threat that we get, and they weren't at all credible. Just some group of pathetic kids trying to see if they could use scare tactics to get something out of us all, to have us their mercy." Steve countered.

"Oh come, now. I wouldn't call us a group of pathetic kids," A man dressed almost identically to a Shield agent, but with the same logo found on the handgun instead of the Shield emblem, stepped out of the shadows of a nearby building. At the sound of this strange, new voice, the three men on ground spun around to face the newcomer.

"Who the hell are you?" Tony demanded as he went in to his fight stance.

"Now, now. Let's not get off on the wrong foot. Not when we were just about to start to get to know each other," the man admonished with a slight tint of humour to his voice. "I'm sure you all have lots of questions, and they will all be answered, in due time." He continued with a salacious grin.

"I do not have the patience for petty games!" boomed Thor. He held out his hand for Mjolnir, intent on shocking the new arrival into compliance.

The anonymous gentleman raised his right hand and made a small motion. Seconds later, there was an almighty blast from the building the three avengers were stood in front of. Tony and Steve managed to escape the majority of the blast, due to a combination of the captains' shield and Tony's suit. When the dust had cleared enough from the field to see the destruction, the couple immediately spotted the demi-god trapped under the rubble of the building that had collapsed due to the explosion. His hand and forearm were the only parts of him that was still visible.

 **A/N - So that's the end of my first chapter. Really new to all of this, so would really appreaciate any feedback/suggestions you could give. Hope to update with next chapter in a couple of day, started working on it already :)**


	2. Chapter 2

" _I do not have the patience for petty games!" boomed Thor. He held out his hand for Mjolnir, intent on shocking the new arrival into compliance._

 _The anonymous gentleman raised his right hand and made a small motion. Seconds later, there was an almighty blast from the building the three avengers were stood in front of. Tony and Steve managed to escape the majority of the blast, due to a combination of the captains' shield and Tony's suit. When the dust had cleared enough from the field to see the destruction, the couple immediately spotted the demi-god trapped under the rubble of the building that had collapsed due to the explosion. His hand and forearm were the only parts of him that was still visible._

"Thor!" Steve yelled as they ran over to him and started to move some of the rubble in an effort to free him, only to have more tumble down from the top of the heap, undoing any progress they had made.

"JARIVS, give me Thor's status," Tony demanded of his A.I. "And figure out how the hell we are going to get him out of there."

"Currently, Master Thor's vitals are slightly below his normal levels. He appears to be unconscious, but breathing without any major difficulties. As for extracting him, I'm afraid that may take some time to complete safely, Sir." JARVIS replied calmly, with as much of a hint of concern as a computer can generate.

Steve rounded on their newest enemy and threw his shield with all his strength. The stranger looked bored as he caught the flying disc in his hand before it could make contact with his body. As he threw the shield to the ground, he looked at the super soldier with a mixture of pity and disappointment.

"Captain, Captain, Captain," he said, shaking his head slowly. "So predictable, I'm disappointed."

"I'm going to ask you once more, who the hell are you?" Tony demanded through his face plate.

"I've already told you Mr. Stark, all will become clear. In time." The stranger stated calmly.

He started to walk around calmly and smugly. "I understand better than most that neither SHIELD, nor the Avengers, negotiate with terrorists. However, I think we can both agree that my organisation and I, are not terrorists."

"You're not terrorists? You come blasting in here, destroying everything in your path, creating panic and chaos throughout the society. By definition, you. Are. Terrorists." Tony explained. Tony then tried to discreetly whisper through his comms to the archer up above them. "Clint, do you have eyes on the girls? Is Charlie alright? Clint? Clint, do you copy?" _Why the hell won't that bird brain answer me?_ He thought angrily. All he could hear was the silence ringing in his years.  
"Just in case you're wondering, Agent Barton isn't answering you, because he isn't aware that you've tried to ask him anything," the stranger stated. When a flash of concern passed across Steve's face, the new comer laughed.  
"Don't worry, he hasn't been harmed. Not yet anyway. But we have blocked the signal to all of your comms. Couldn't have you making sneaky orders and messing with Pitt plans now, could we?" He asked rhetorically.  
"Ok, so you won't tell us your name, you've hinted at an organisation but I'm not going to waste time by asking who that is as its obvious you won't tell us yet. Maybe you can answer this; what do you want from us? You've already informed us that you know we don't negotiate with terrorist organisations. So, seriously, what do you want from the avengers so badly?" Steve questioned the tall man in front of him, trying to take in as many details about him as possible _6'1", well-muscled, brown eyes-like mud. Black hair, greying slightly at the temples, about mid 40's. No greatly distinguishing features. Perfect.  
_ "To distract you," the man stated simply.  
"Distract us?" Tony questioned as he and Steve glanced at each other in confusion, before returning their attention to the unknown enemy in front of them. "Distract us from what?"  
All of a sudden there was yet another explosion, but this one was quite a few streets away. Even still, their automatic reflexes caused the superhero couple to crouch down and raise their arms to protect their heads from the blast _. What the hell was that?_ Tony thought frantically. He was looking over in the direction of the blast, looking for any clues. That's when he spotted the small form of Clint jumping the void between buildings, on his way to investigate this new threat.  
"What the hell is going on?" Steve demanded in his captain America voice, bristling with authority.  
"Tony, Steve, you guys hear me? You need to get down here. Now. " Clint could be heard through their earpieces once again.  
"Give us a minutes, just dealing with some loose ends here," Tony replied, breathing a small sigh of relieve that the comms were working again.  
"Don't make me ask you again!" The super soldier shouted across the sound of an approaching hovercraft. A ladder was lowered down from the bulk head of the jet. The mysterious gentleman climbed the first few rungs, then stopped to yell down to the angry avengers below him.  
"I was merely distracting you long enough to acquire your newest asset. Or should I say now _our_ newest asset." The man cackled as the hovercraft lifted up, taking him away from the battlefield.

Neither the genius, nor the super soldier made any attempt to stop his getaway. The couple remained frozen in place, eyes locked in a look bursting with worry and heartache, whilst they whispered to one another in unison, "Charlie..."

 **A/N So I know this chapter isn't nearly as long as the first one, but I needed to end it where I did. Next chapter is being written and will be uploaded soon. PLease review and let me know what you all think, any and all feedback is welcomed :)**


	3. Chapter 3

_"Don't make me ask you again!" The super soldier shouted across the sound of an approaching hovercraft. A ladder was lowered down from the bulk head of the jet. The mysterious gentleman climbed the first few rungs, then stopped to yell down to the angry avengers below him.  
"I was merely distracting you long enough to acquire your newest asset. Or should I say now our newest asset." The man cackled as the hovercraft lifted up, taking him away from the battlefield. _

_Neither the genius, nor the super soldier made any attempt to stop his getaway. The couple remained frozen in place, eyes locked in a look bursting with worry and heartache, whilst they whispered to one another in unison, "Charlie..."_

The superhero husbands continued to share this look for what felt like forever. Once their minds had registered what had happened, and remembering that there was something that they needed to see, they took off towards where Clint was waiting for them. Too impatient to wait on Steve getting there on his own, Tony grabbed him around the waist and lifted them both in to the air.

"Tony, let me go!"

"Honey, this is the fastest way to get to Clint! We don't have any time to lose. Charlie…" He was cut off as the tears that had been building up in his eyes finally spilled over. Steve stopped struggling and just held on for dear life as Tony pushed his suit as far as he could.

"Clint, please tell me you have eyes on the girls. Tell me that bastard was lying, tell me that Charlie is safe," Steve begged over the comms. There was just silence in response.

"Clint!" Tony and Steve shouted in unison. They were desperate for an answer, even though deep down, they knew that their anonymous assailant wasn't playing games with them.

"I'm sorry guys. He wasn't lying. I've found the girls' holsters and weapons. There is no way they would willingly take them off and leave them behind. Their comms units are here too. You know what Nat is like. She only takes that thing out to shower, and that's only because of the shocks it would give her otherwise. "

"Shit," Tony cursed out load. _Fuck, shit, bastard, wank,_ he thought. The genius wasn't about to start his usual string of expletives and being told off by Captain America about his language, even though he was pretty sure Steve was thinking pretty much the exact same thing.

"Guys, there's something else. That necklace that you gave Charlie, the one with the tracker in it? It's been snapped off and destroyed. I know Nat doesn't carry one, in case it can be intercepted by someone else, namely the Red Room. There is now no way for us to trace their location. We have to wait for them to contact us. If they can," Clint explained with a hint of sadness to his voice.

 _How does he know about Charlies' tracker? No one knows about that, not even Charlie,_ Steve thought fleetingly, then quickly focusing on the bigger issue.

They had now reached Clint, and took in the scene before them. Nat and Charlies' weapons and holsters were thrown down next to a dumpster, their comms units next to them. _If they had taken them off themselves, they would have hidden them,_ Tony processed what that meant. He looked around and saw blood on the ground, and quite a lot of it. He took a sample to analyse when they got back up to his lab on the ship. _Maybe we got lucky and our little fighter got some hits in. We can use this to figure out who has her, and Nat._

Clint was holding the remnants of Charlies' necklace in his hands. The chain had been snapped from around her neck. The diamond heart containing the tracking chip was completely destroyed. Clint was right, there was no way for the avengers to track their missing team mates. There was no way for Steve and Tony to find their missing daughter.

"Tony, wh-what are we going to do?" Steve's voice broke as he looked to his husband for answers.

Tony looked at his other half, tears falling down his face. He could see the tears escaping the beautiful baby blue eyes he loved so much. Steve, who was usual the stronger of the duo, was becoming a crumbling mess in front of him. This made Tony's heart break even farther. Something he didn't think was even possible. "I don't know, sweetheart," he admitted honestly, taking the taller blond in to his arms, to comfort himself as much as his husband.

"Why don't you two head back to the hellicarrier? Check in with Fury, go over everything that has happened. See if there is any clues as to who those bastards are, and what they want with our girls." Clint suggested. Tony and Steve were still locked in their embrace, pulling strength from each other. They nodded and started to untangle themselves but held on to each other's hands. Clint nodded at the lost men in front of him. "If you can wake him, could you send Banner down? I'm going to need some help to free Thor. It might be brain power, it might be pure muscle I need. Either way, I could use him."

"Yeah, sure," Steve replied, wiping a fallen tear away from his cheek. Tony embraced his husband once again, getting ready to head back up to the hellicarrier. "Hold on tight, honey."

Steve wrapped his arms around the shoulders of his partner suit, preparing himself for one of the quickest flights to the ship he has ever had. He knows that they should feel bad about not helping with the freeing of Thor, but their heads just weren't in the right space at that moment in time. They needed to be doing anything and everything to get their daughter back home safely.

When they landed on the flight deck, Tony stepped out of the Iron Man Suit, setting the command for it to go back to the armoury. He and Steve then took off at a run towards the bridge, yelling at random agents to get out of their way. As they burst through the door, Agent Hill and Director Fury looked up from their conversation. Hills' eyes were a slightly red, as though she had been crying a little. Fury looked at them, trying to gauge what they were thinking and feeling. Since he didn't have any children, he knew he couldn't even begin to imagine what the two warriors in front of him were feeling.

"Gentlemen," He acknowledged, standing up from his seat at the conference table.

"What did you manage to get? He said that they had blocked the comms. We couldn't contact Clint, or you," Steve babbled.

"When he blocked your comms on the ground, all of ours went down too. The last we heard before the silence, was you two and Thor looking through the rubble. From then, till when Agent Barton asked you to meet him at the blast site, we have nothing. We've gathered that Thor is trapped, and that agents Romanov and Stark-Rogers are M.I.A," Nick Fury explained. The director was not known for his delicacy when it came to his words, and this time was no different.

"They are not M.I.A!" Tony exploded. "They have been taken by this asshole and his organisation!"

"Whose been taken?" Bruce asked groggily as he walked on to the bridge. He had clearly just woken up from the effects of his "anti-hulk" antidote.

"Dr. Banner, " Fury greeted. "That was a quick nap. Are you sure you're ready to be up and about?"

"I'm fine. I'm getting better at controlling my anger, so I didn't need as much of a treatment today," Bruce explained. He was looking around the room and taking in the scene before him. He could sense tension everywhere, but it was radiating off of the hero husbands who were sat at the conference table holding hands. "Is someone going to tell me what is going on? Where is the rest of the team?"

"A-after you, uh, after you left, there was. We started going through the wreckage and um.." Steve tried to explain, but couldn't find the right words. Agent Hill stepped forward and updated the doctor for him.

"After the Captain sent you back here for your treatment, someone blocked all of our communications with the team on the ground, and they couldn't communicate with each other either. We tried everything to get the system back up and running again. Eventually, the block was removed, and we could hear what was happening again. From what we have gathered, there was two explosions. Thor is currently trapped under the rubble from the first one. Agent Barton has requested your assistance with his recovery," she stated calmly, but with watering eyes.

The doctor nodded, taking this new information in. "And the second blast? You said there was two," he pressed.

"We don't have all the details yet. What we do know, is that agents-" She broke off to catch her breath, tears threatening to fall. "Both Natasha and Charlotte are missing. Their weapons and their comms units have been found at the scene by Agent Barton," She finished.

"Nat and Charlie are missing?" He repeated, turning to look at the other two avengers in the room.

"They aren't missing!" Tony reiterated angrily. "They were taken." Sighing heavily, he began to fill them all in on what they had missed. "After Steve sent you back here, we started going through the wreckage. Thor found a blaster with a logo emblazoned on the side. We all looked at it and agreed that we had seen it somewhere before, but couldn't place it. I thought it was that group that keeps sending those shitty little threats to SHIELD and to us," he explained, motioning between his partner and himself.

"That's when the unsub walked out from where he had been hiding in the shadows," Steve took over. "We tried to find out who he was, but he wasn't for telling. He wanted to draw it all out, play games with us. Thor got pissed, started shouting at him, and that's when the first detonation came. Thor was buried under the rubble. We started to move the debris, but every time we did, the rest shifted. It was too dangerous to keep going without a proper plan. Jarvis checked him over, he was unconscious, but otherwise alright. The guy kept playing us, we were going round in circles. Tony tried to get a hold of Hawkeye. That's when we realised that the comms were down.

"He claimed that he and his organisation aren't terrorists, knew that we don't negotiate. I asked him what he wanted from us. He said he was distracting us. That's when the second blast hit, but this one was a few streets away."

"That's when I saw Barton jumping rooftops, heading towards the blast site. By this point, the block must have been removed and the comms were working again. Clint told us that there was something we needed to see," Tony picked-up. "A hover craft came in to collect the asshole, and he told us that he was distracting us so he could get _"Our newest asset"._ Then he was gone. That's when we knew that he had Charlie, and most likely Nat as well. We raced to Clint's location, found all the girls tech and weapons, plus a whole lot of blood. Also, Charlie was wearing a necklace that we got her for her birthday a couple of years ago. It had a tracker in the pendant. Nobody knew about that except me and Steve. They took it from her and destroyed it, leaving the pieces for us to find. There is no way for us to find them. There is no way for us to find them. We have to wait and hope they find a way to contact us. Otherwise, we may never see them again," Tony finished, tears now streaming down his tan face. He wasn't even trying to stop them now, the pain in his heart was too great.

 **A/N - So this one was a lot longer. Hope you are all enjoying reading it as much as I am enjoying writing it. Would really love to hear your thoughts on it so far. Any suggestions you may have about where I could take this will be considered too. Chapter 4 is in the works, will hopfully be uploaded in the next few days!**


	4. Chapter 4

" _That's when I saw Barton jumping rooftops, heading towards the blast site. By this point, the block must have been removed and the comms were working again. Clint told us that there was something we needed to see," Tony picked-up. "A hover craft came in to collect the asshole, and he told us that he was distracting us so he could get "Our newest asset". Then he was gone. That's when we knew that he had Charlie, and most likely Nat as well. We raced to Clint's location, found all the girls tech and weapons, plus a whole lot of blood. Also, Charlie was wearing a necklace that we got her for her birthday a couple of years ago. It had a tracker in the pendant. Nobody knew about that except me and Steve. They took it from her and destroyed it, leaving the pieces for us to find. There is no way for us to find them. There is no way for us to find them. We have to wait and hope they find a way to contact us. Otherwise, we may never see them again," Tony finished, tears now streaming down his tan face. He wasn't even trying to stop them now, the pain in his heart was too great._

Bruce sat there in stunned silence for a few moments, processing what he has just heard. "Why would someone want to take them? Did they say why they wanted the?" He was rambling off questions as they popped into his brain. Tony and Steve in silence, just holding on to each other.

"Oh, my God. Right, OK. I'm going to go and help Barton free Thor, then we are going to sit down and come up with a plan about what to do next." Bruce looked both his team mates in the eye, then turned on his heel and left the bridge.

"Why don't you two go and freshen up? Grab something to eat? You're going to need to have to keep your strength up to kick this bastard's ass," Fury coerced.

Steve looked to his husband, silently asking his opinion. When Tony nodded, they both stood up, their hold on the others hand never breaking.

"You'll tell us immediately is you get anything new," Tony said to Hill. It wasn't a question so much as a demand.

"Of course, you will be the first ones we call," she appeased. Tony seemed happy with this and the couple headed towards their compartment to shower and change.

When they arrived in their suite, Steve started to strip out of his Captain America uniform, while Tony went straight over to the small desk in the corner.

"Hey, J? Compile everything you got from our encounter with this wanker and send it all to Hill. Run his face, his voice, the emblem we found on the weapon, everything. I want to know this dickhead better than his own mother."  
"Of course, Sir. Is there anything else I can do you or the Captain?" The A.I replied.

"I dunno. Perform a miracle and find her?" Tony suggested.

"I will do everything in my power, Sir. May I suggest you take Director Fury's advice and get some rest? You need to keep your strength up in order to locate Miss Charlotte and Miss Natasha," Jarvis prompted.

"Yeah, I think I'll go and join Steve in the shower," Tony answered, rubbing his hands over his face. "Thanks, buddy." Tony then stood up from his seat at his workstation and headed towards the bathroom, peeling his clothes off his body as we went. He didn't even bother to knock. He knew the door would be unlocked Steve only closed the door to keep the heat in the room. When Tony entered the steamy room, Steve was under the stream of water, his forearms and forehead resting against the wall of the enclosure. Tony stepped in behind his husband and wrapped his arms around the slim, toned waist. His hands resting on perfect abs. He rested his head on Steve's well-muscled shoulder and just held him tight. Neither of the men said anything. They didn't have to. They were both feeling the same torturous pain. This was their worst fear, losing Charlie. That was their main apprehension they had towards her becoming an Avenger. Steve turned around and captured Tony in his strong embrace. They stood holding each other, supporting each other and letting the scorching water try and wash away their pain. All sense of time fell away. Once the water started to run a little cool, they quickly washed and exited the shower. They dressed in relative silence, each knowing there was very little they could say to erase the pain and worry from their lover.

Once he was dressed in his usual uniform of well-worn and a ratty band tee over a long-sleeved top, Tony headed back over to the desk, while Steve padded over to the bed.

"J, anything?" Tony asked, his voice tinged with scepticism.

"Unfortunately not, Sir. I've run everything you asked me to, but there is no trace of this man you encountered earlier today. It's as if he is a ghost, operating completely off the grid," Jarvis answered his creator, his autonomic voice laced with regret.

"Figures. Keep us posted. Tell Fury and Hill we will be up soon, we just need some time to refocus."

"Certainly, Sir."

Tony then wandered over to the bed, where Steve was lay down, just staring up at the ceiling.

"This is just like when she was born. I hate feeling this useless," Steve informed his husband.

"I know, sweetheart. I do too."

"We can't lose her, Tony, we can't. I won't survive that, neither of us will. We promised after she was born that nothing would happen to her, and now look at where we are. She's God knows where, going through God knows what. I swear, if they hurt her in anyway, I'll kill them with my bare hands," Steve went on.

"You know I'll be right there with you. She's a fighter, a survivor. She gets that from you, you know."  
"She gets it from both of us, babe. She's half you as well, Tony. You've survived so much." Steve rolled on to his side to gaze in to the beautiful hazel eyes of the genius that is Tony Stark.

"That may be, but I don't think I could go through what happened when she was born again. It nearly killed me."

Steve nodded, rubbing his large, strong hands up and down the smaller man's back, trying his best to comfort him while they both thought back to Charlies terrifying arrival into this world almost 18 years earlier.

" _Use Screw F to attach Side A to End C, using Bracket K. What the fuck?" Tony mumbled to himself. "Piece of shit!" he yelled, throwing bracket J across the room._

 _"Hey, honey. How is the crib goi-?" Steve's question was cut off as he ducked to avoid the projectile object that was flying across the room. "Ah. Never mind, question answered." He continued, standing upright again._

 _"These instructions are shit. I have half a mind to go back down the store and ram them down the sales consultants' throat!_ 'Very easy to assemble' _my ass."_

 _"Tony, calm down, I'm sure they aren't that hard. Let me have a look," Steve instructed._

 _"Babe, seriously. I have two Masters Degrees from MIT, I build tech for a living, and I'm stumped."  
"You're right, you do build tech for a living. You don't build cribs however. You need a different approach. Give me the instructions," Steve demanded, holding out his hand._

 _"I'm just going to get the build team service in and be done with it," Tony sighed in defeat._

 _"No. We are building our child's nursery furniture ourselves. If you want to give up and admit defeat, then fine. But I am not giving up that easily," Steve said with determination in his voice._

 _"Fine, Mr._ Took-Me-Two-Months-To-Figure-Out-The-Microwave, _have at it!" Tony stormed out of the nursery, most likely heading to his lab via the kitchen for more coffee._

Deep breaths, Steve. Deep breaths. OK, let's see what the hell it is I have to do with all of this.

 _45 minutes later, Tony figured Steve was ready to tear his hair out, just like he had been. He locked his computer after checking his emails and dealing with anything that needed his immediate attention. He grabbed his phone and sent a quick text to Pepper to check in on her._

**Hey, just wanted to see how you and the baby are doing? Trying to build the nursery furniture is driving us insane. T x**

 _Peppers reply was almost instantaneous._

**Tony, the baby isn't due for another 10 weeks. What's the rush? P x**

 _He smiled at his phone. Thinking of his super soldier upstairs, he sent his response._

**You know what Steve is like. 'Always be prepared.' I think it's something he picked up in the army. T x**

 _He started heading towards the elevator, intending to save his husband from the crib, or maybe the other way around, he wasn't sure. His phone beeped at him, alerting him that he had a new message._

**Sweetie, that's the Boy Scouts, not the army. P x**

**Oh well, close enough. Hey, you wanna come over for dinner? I'll make Steve cook? T x**

**Sounds lovely, but I'm going out for dinner with Happy. Rain Check? P x**

**No worries. Tell Happy to be careful. I don't want any harm to come to my child, or their surrogate mother. I couldn't survive if anything happened to you two. T x**

**Stop worrying. Bump and I will be fine. Enjoy your evening. P x**

**It's a fathers' job to worry. You enjoy your night too. T x**

 _By this point, Tony had reached the floor he shared with Steve. "Babe, I'm here to save you!" Tony called out playfully. He walked in to the room they were trying to turn in to a nursery, and was stopped dead in his tracks, his jaw nearly hitting the floor. Steve had the crib fully assembled, and was nearly done building the dresser/changer. "How long was I away for?"_

 _"Um, about an hour?" Steve replied, glancing down at his watch._

 _"Honey, this is amazing. How did you do all this so quickly?" Tony walked over and gave his husband a quick peck on the lips._

 _"I read and followed the instructions and didn't throw a temper tantrum when it didn't go my way," Steve said with the beginnings of a smirk playing on his pale pink lips._

 _"I'm sorry, sweetheart. Really, I am," Tony apologised, wrapping his arms around the strong shoulders of his husband._

 _"I know you are, babe. And to make it up to me, you can help me finish the dresser, then arrange the soft furnishings." Steve leant down and gave the smaller brunette a kiss, whilst snaking his hands down to Tony's ass and giving it a little squeeze. Tony knew that this meant they would be making up in other ways later, too._

 _"Deal," Tony gushed, pressing his body against the rock hard one in front of him._

 _Steve chuckled at his lovers' eagerness. "Later. Nursery first, sex after. He gave the pouting mastermind another kiss, then turned him round by the shoulders and tried to explain flat packed furniture to the 'genius'._

 _2 hours later, several curse words from Tony, and as many exasperated sighs from Steve, they were both finally with the way they are set up the nursery room._

 _"I'm really glad we decided not to find out the sex. The excitement and anticipation, it's like Christmas," Tony gushed to Steve as they stood side by side in the doorway, holding each other close._

 _"Me too. I honestly don't care either way. I just want them to be happy, healthy and loved," Steve replied._

 _"They will be, honey." Tony held Steve as tightly as he could, knowing he wouldn't hurt the super soldier._

 _Steve returned the hug, conscious as always of his strength. "So…dinner?" He wasn't hungry, not for food anyway, but he wanted to know how Tony was feeling._

 _"How about dessert first?" Tony asked huskily._

 _"Oh, God, yes!" Steve exhaled, sweeping Tony off his feet. Tony wrapped his legs around Steve's trim waist, and snaked his arms around the broad shoulders as he let his husband carry him to their room down the hall. He started peppering light kisses all over the blonds face and neck, whilst avoiding those perfect lips. Tony knew, even with his teasing and distractions, that Steve would never drop him. Once they arrived in their room, Steve set Tony down, making sure he was steady before letting him go completely._

 _"J, no interruptions unless it is life or death," Tony instructed._

 _In one smooth move, Steve took both of Tony's tops off, the short sleeved band one, and the long sleeved plain one underneath. He was enraptured for a moment at the gloriousness of a topless Tony. Strong hands wandered with gentle caresses over Tony's pecs, tracing lightly towards his Arc Reactor. Tony hated talking about it, or about what happened in Afghanistan. Everything Steve knew about that time in his husbands' life was from snippets of conversations with Pepper and Rhodey._

 _"One day," Steve started, leaning down to kiss the border between man and machine, making Tony tense and recoil ever so subtly. "We are going to talk about this, and everything that happened." He looked up in to the beautiful brown eyes, which were filled with fear and horrific memories. "But not right now. Right now, we have some making up to do." Steve finished. Once the fear had left Tony's eyes, and the playful look returned, Steve gently pushed his back and on to the vast bed behind him. Tony grabbed Steve's hand, pulling the gorgeous blond on top of him. Steve, taken completely by surprise, had to react quickly so as to not hurt the brunette that ended up beneath him. Steve managed to angle himself so he was straddling his husband, ensuing he couldn't move very far. Steve stripped his own top off before holding both of Tony's wrists above his head with his left hand, leaving his right hand to trace down the tan body whilst he was torturing his husband with teasing kisses._

 _"Steve, n-no teasing," Tony begged. He opened his mouth to say something else, but was cut off as it was quickly covered by Steve's. Tony melted in to the kiss. Steve's hand was still playing across Tony's abs and along his side, making him squirm. He moaned in to Steve's mouth._

 _"I love you, Tony. More than life itself. You're the best thing that has ever happened to me," Steve breathed, his hand traveling back down and across the tan abs._

 _"I love you too, Steve. So much – Oh, God, Steve!" Tony gasped as the super soldier slipped his hand below the billionaires' waistband, cupping Tony's hard member through the thin material of his boxers._

 _"There appears to be something in our way," Steve whispered seductively in to his ear. He released Tony's hands from his grip above his head and removed his other hand from Tony's boxers. Tony huffed slightly at the loss of contact The super soldier then started tugging at the ripped jeans that Tony always wore, trying to work them off his body. Tony tried to wriggle around to help get them off quicker, but only seemed to hinder the process. Once they were safely on the ground next to his tops, Tony started to help Steve out of his own jeans and boxers. While Steve returned his attention to Tony, peeling his black boxers off tantalisingly slowly, Tony's muffled ringtone could be heard amongst the pile of clothes._

 _"Jarvis, could you deal with that pleas? Tell whoever it is that Mr. Stark is slightly preoccupied and they should leave a message." Steve said, his eyes locked with his lovers. Tony groaned as he let his head drop back against the bed. He knew this was going to be a long night, and he could hardly contain his glee. The ringing stopped immediately, to both men's satisfaction._

 _"Good. Now, where was I? Oh yes…" Steve smirked before dragging the tip of his tongue up the underside of Tony's erection and lapping up the drop of pre-cum that had already formed at the tip. Tony took in a sharp breath as a shudder rippled through his body. The moan that escaped his lips turned on the tall blond even more._

 _"God, Tony. You're making me harder than I ever thought possible. I want to take you. I want to feel you fall apart around me," Steve panted._

 _"Oh, fuck, yes! Tony whimpered. At this, Steve fully took Tony into his mouth. Tony groaned, bucking his hips forwards and driving his cock into Steve's hot, wet mouth. The super soldier placed his strong hands on Tony's hops, then started bobbing his head up and down._

 _"Honey, if you keep going like that I'm not going to last much longer…" Tony informed his husband._

 _Steve didn't show any signs of stopping, much to Tony's delight. Clearly, multiple orgasms were on the cards for tonight, and Tony wasn't about to complain._

 _Just as Tony was able to feel the familiar pool of warmth form in the base of his stomach, Jarvis' voice sounded over the intercom system._

 _"I'm sorry, Sir, but you have a phone call." The A.I apologised for the interruption._

 _"Fuck, Jarvis. I said no interruptions. Take a message and I'll call them tomorrow." Tony snarled._

 _"I believe you'll want to take this call, Sir." The A.I responded._

 _By this point, Steve had stopped his ministrations with his mouth._

 _"And I believe I told you not to bother us unless it was life or death. Now, tell me, J. What the hell is so damn important that you had to interrupt us while we are in the middle of makeup sex?" Tony demanded incredulously._

 _"It's the police, Sir. It's regarding Miss Potts. There's been an accident."_

 **A/N - So this is the first time I've done anything close to a smut scene. As mentioned in the summary, there will be more to follow, plus in the next few chapters I'll start to explore the other warnings mentioned. Please please please review and let me know what you think!**


	5. Chapter 5

"Oh, fuck, yes! Tony whimpered. At this, Steve fully took Tony into his mouth. Tony groaned, bucking his hips forwards and driving his cock into Steve's hot, wet mouth. The super soldier placed his strong hands on Tony's hips, then started bobbing his head up and down.

"Honey, if you keep going like that I'm not going to last much longer…" Tony informed his husband.

Steve didn't show any signs of stopping, much to Tony's delight. Clearly, multiple orgasms were on the cards for tonight, and Tony wasn't about to complain.

Just as Tony was able to feel the familiar pool of warmth form in the base of his stomach, Jarvis' voice sounded over the intercom system.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but you have a phone call." The A.I apologised for the interruption.

"Fuck, Jarvis. I said no interruptions. Take a message and I'll call them tomorrow." Tony snarled.

"I believe you'll want to take this call, Sir." The A.I responded.

By this point, Steve had stopped his ministrations with his mouth.

"And I believe I told you not to bother us unless it was life or death. Now, tell me, J. What the hell is so damn important that you had to interrupt us while we are in the middle of makeup sex?" Tony demanded incredulously.

"It's the police, Sir. It's regarding Miss Potts. There's been an accident."

 _Steve's head snapped up and his eyes locked with Tony's. The beautiful tan face had palled, all the colour draining from it._

 _"Pepper," Tony whispered, barely audible._

 _Steve sprang in to action, standing and sorting through their clothes that lay scattered at the end of the bed. He lay Tony's clothes next to where he sat naked in the middle of the bed. "Sweetheart I need you to get dressed for me now," Steve cajoled, kissing his husband lightly on the temple. "Jarvis, put the call through. Tell them that Tony is in no state to talk at the moment and that it will be me that they will be speaking with. "_

 _"Certainly,Sir." The A.I replied coolly._

 _Steve started pulling his clothes back on and noticed that Tony still hadn't moved. "Sweetheart, come on, get dressed for me," he soothed._

 _"Pepper," was all the response Steve got._

 _"Yes, baby, we're going to go see Pepper now, but I need you to get dressed for me first." Steve placed his hands on Tony's shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes, trying to get through to his husband._

 _Tony nodded and started to get dressed again._

 _"Captain, I've put the call through and updated the police as you requested," Jarvis' voice sounded gently throughout the room._

 _"Thanks, J," Steve said, grabbing the phone from the bedside table._

 _"Tony, I'm going to go and take this call outside and find out everything I can. I need you to finish getting ready. Be ready to leave in 5 minutes."_

 _"5 minutes, OK." Tony nodded as he pulled his jeans on._

 _Happy that his husband seemed to be over his initial shock and moving again, Steve left their bedroom and stepped out in to the hallway of their suite._

 _"Hello, this is Captain Rodgers-Stark speaking."_

 _"Captain, this is detective Wells of the NYPD. Apologies for the late hour. I understand that you have been informed of the nature of this call?" The voice rang through from the other end of the line._

 _"Briefly. All we know is that there has been an accident." Steve replied, sounding a lot calmer than he felt. "Tell me everything you know."_

 _"The car in which Miss Potts was a passenger, was hit directly on her side, causing the car to spin and ricochet off of some of the surrounding vehicles. The driver, a Mr. Hogan, has some cuts and bruises, but has managed to walk away relatively unharmed. Miss Potts, however, required extensive extraction from the vehicle. I have been informed by the paramedics that her condition is critical. She is on her way to the hospital now. Mr Hogan instructed us that you and your husband were to be notified immediately, given your relationship with Miss Potts," the detective answered calmly._

 _"A-and the baby? Steve stammered, fighting back the tears that threatened in his eyes._

 _"I'm afraid I don't know, Captain. I don't have any specific details on either of their conditions, other than that Miss Potts is critical like I said, which I would imagine would mean similar for the baby." The officer explained apologetically. "You should get down to the hospital, and perhaps prepare yourselves."_

Oh, God. How on earth do I explain this to Tony? How do I tell him that one of his closest friends may die? Alongside our unborn baby? _Steve's blood ran cold. He thanked the detective and ended the call. Taking a deep breath, he tried to regain his composure before facing Tony and going through the conversation with him. Steve took one more deep breath and then opened the bedroom door, where he found his husband rushing around the room at almost breakneck speed._

 _"Honey, I'm almost ready to go, I just need to grab my phone and keys. Did you talk to Pepper?" Tony looked up at his husbands expression and stopped in his tracks. "Steve..?"_

 _"No, sweetie. I didn't talk to her. I spoke to one of the detectives from the NYPD. He told me briefly what happened. We are going to go meet Pepper and Happy at the hospital now," Steve tried to keep his voice as level as possible. He was stalling, and hated himself for it, but he didn't know how to explain to Tony the situation that they now found themselves in._

 _"But they're OK, right? It's just a precaution, they just need to be checked over?" Tony questioned the tall blond in front of him. He knew there was something that Steve wasn't telling him, but he wouldn't let his mind believe it until he heard the words from the super soldier directly._

 _"Sweetheart, sit down for a second. I need to tell you something, and I need you to stay calm for me." Baby blue eyes pleaded with the hazel ones in front of him._

 _Tony sat down on the bed again, his mind running at a mile a minute, trying not to think of all the possible things he was about to hear._

 _"The detective said it was a really bad accident. They don't know what caused it yet, they are still looking in to that. Happy is alright, a bit banged up I think, but alright," Steve started to explain._

 _"And Pepper and the baby? They're OK too, right?" Tony probed._

 _"I honestly don't know, babe. The car was hit on Peppers side. It spun and hit off of some other cars before it stopped. They had to cut her out of the car. She's on her way to the hospital, but the paramedics say her condition is critical, and the detective said he imagines that means the baby is in the same condition. They are doing everything they can for her, and the baby, but we need to prepare ourselves for what we might find when we get to the hospital. We both know Pepper is a fighter, a survivor, but this might be too big a fight for even her to scrape through."_

 _Tony had a look of confusion on his face, which almost never happened. "What do you mean, too big a fight? What are you trying to tell me, Steve?" He demanded._

 _Steve sighed slightly, trying and failing to keep a grasp on the last of his composure. "I'm saying, there is a very high chance that Pepper and the baby might not be able to overcome their injuries. There is a very real chance that they may die," Steve explained._

 _Pepper, our baby. Oh, God. They can't die. Please, please, please, don't let them die. Tony, who would openly admit that he didn't believe in a higher power of any sort, was pleading and praying with any that would listen to him now. He would promise anything, give anything, just to let his best friend and unborn child survive all this._

 _"They can't die. They have to be alright, Steve. I need her, she's my best friend," Tony had tears falling down his face. He reached for his husband, needing the solace he knew he would find in his strong embrace._

 _"I know, sweetheart. Come on, let's go to the hospital and see her, and Happy. I'm sure he feels awful, even if it wasn't his fault. "_

 _"He should feel awful. He should have protected them!" Tony growled._

 _"Honey, we don't know what happened yet. You know that Happy would never do anything to put Pepper in danger. You know this," Steve countered. He knew Tony wasn't being rational with everything going on, but he wasn't about to let him blame Happy for something that he could 99% guarantee wasn't his fault. "Until the police are done with their investigation, we just have to remain calm, and focus on Pepper and the baby. Once we know what actually happened, then you can go all Iron Man on someone's ass."_

 _Tony looked in to the baby blue eyes of his husband, falling ever so slightly even more in love with him."_

 _"Square deal," he replied with the start of a smile playing on his lips. "Come on, let's go see our girl, and our bump." Tony leaned up and gave Steve a quick kiss on the lips, thanking him for being the rational one of the pair, and letting him know that his plan to calm him down was working._

 _Walking hand in hand, the super hero husbands headed towards the elevator to take them down to the garage. Steve knew Tony was doing everything he could to keep it together, but he could still feel the tension radiating off of him. "I'm driving," he stated, holding his hand out to Tony, looking for the keys._

 _"Yeah, sure thing." Tony handed them over without any argument. He took a deep, shaky breath. He caught Steve watching him out of the corner of his eye. "I'm fine, babe, honest. I've got you, and you keep me strong," the brunette smiled at the tall blond standing next to him._

 _"If you're going to freak out, I think now is the time to do it. Doing it at the hospital isn't going to help anyone, especially Pepper and the baby," Steve began._

 _"Honestly, I'll be ok. Me staying calm once we get there is what's best for everyone, so that's what I'm doing. If I need to have a freak out, I'll let you know." Tony gave Steve a quick kiss on the lips, then buried himself in to the strong arms of his super soldier. "I don't know what I would do without you, Steve."_

 _"You don't even have to imagine, sweetheart," Steve replied, softly kissing the brunette curls that were tickling his face._

 _"Jarvis, set the navigation system up, check what the traffic conditions are like. I want to get to the hospital as soon as possible, please," Steve instructed as he slid in to the driver's seat of the Audi parked nearest to the garage door._

 _"Already completed, sir. Your estimated journey time is currently 15 minutes. Would you like to set the controls to manual or auto-driver?"_

 _"Manual, please, Jarvis. You know, I have no idea why you installed that auto-driver program in all of our cars," he said, turning his attention to Tony who was strapping himself in in the passenger seat next to him._

 _"I know you don't like it, but that's why you still have the option to drive. Come on, drive. I want to get to Pepper as soon as possible," Tony snapped._

 _Steve knew better than to call Tony out for his attitude at that moment in time. He just started the car and pulled out in to the New York City traffic. They sat in relative silence for most of the journey, Steve concentrating on the road, and Tony concentrating on not having a hissy fit at how long it was taking them to get to the hospital._

 _When they finally arrived, Tony didn't wait for Steve to finish parking before he had the door open and was out of the car, muttering something under his breath about it being quicker if he just used his suit to fly them there. He didn't bother waiting for Steve, he knew that the super soldier would catch up to him before he even got to the front entrance._

 _Walking up to the nurses station, Steve asked for directions to where Pepper was being treated. When the nurse questioned what their relationship was to Pepper, Tony started to tell her exactly who they were, but was cut off by Steve, telling him that he was handling it._

 _"My name is Steve Rodgers-Stark, and this is my husband, Tony Stark. Pepper is one of our closest friends, and is also our surrogate. I know that she was in a car accident, we were contacted by Detective Wells of the NYPD and told to come here. Now, could you kindly tell me where she is being treated, as my husband and I would like to check on her and our unborn child." Steve's voice was oozing with Captain America authority, to the point that not even Tony would argue with him._

 _The nurse seemed to shrink back slightly in her seat, her resting bitch face turning to an apologetic expression as the colour drained from her features. "I'm so sorry, sir. Give me a moment, and I will locate her for you on our systems." She began typing furiously, hoping to get the information that the two men in front of her were looking for in record time. Of course, this would be the moment that her computer decided it wanted a 5 minute break, and was taking its sweet time in loading the search results._

 _"Oh, for the love of God, I'll go search for her room by room! It will be quicker than wasting our time here!" Tony huffed, turning on his heel to walk away from the desk._

 _"Sir, Miss Potts is currently still in the E.R, her injuries are still being assessed, and then I believe she is scheduled to be taken for various scans. If you make your way down to the waiting area, I will inform the on-call resident of your location, and ensure you are updated periodically," the nurse tried to be as helpful as possible._

 _"Thank you, we'd appreciate that," Steve smiled at her, then turned his attention to his husband. "Come on, let's go see our girl."_

 _The pair headed through the maze of the hospital, pausing to look at information boards to try and figure out where they were, and how to reach the E.R._

 _When they finally arrived, they found Happy having his wounds assessed and stitched up by a young intern._

 _"What the hell happened? I trusted you to take care of them!" Tony started shouting, not stopping to think how the scene may appear to anyone else._

 _"Tony!" Steve reprimanded._

 _"I'm sorry gentlemen, but you can't be in here right now. Please-"_

 _"No it's ok, they can stay." The young girl was interrupted by Happy._

 _The intern nodded and went back to stitching a deep cut above Happys left eye._

 _"Guys, you have no idea how sorry I am that this happened," Happy began, turning to his friends. "I don't remember much. We were talking, we had had a nice meal and I was driving her home. Then next thing I know there is a blinding light surrounding Pepper, and the next thing I know, we're on the opposite side of the road. I remember screaming, I don't know if it was Pepper, me, or both of us. And then I remember blood. Lots and lots of blood. She was bleeding all over the place. She wasn't conscious, I tried to wake her up, get her to talk to me, but she didn't._

 _"Then the paramedics arrived, and the fire department, and they started to cut her out of the car. All I could do was sit and watch. Tony, you know I would never do anything to put her in danger. I love her, Tony. And I don't think she knows that." Happy broke off with a sob. His whole body was shaking, making it hard for the intern to do her job efficiently._

 _"I'm sure she does. And if she doesn't, then tell her as soon as she wakes up. Trust me, as maybe the worlds' leading authority on waiting too long; don't. Tell her how you feel, Happy. That way you can stop wondering "what if?" And you never know, maybe it will be the best thing that ever happened to you," at this, Steve pulled Tony to his side and gave him a kiss on the top of his head. He felt Tony wrap his arms around his waist, and he felt complete._

 _Suddenly, the privacy curtain surrounding the gurney that Happy was lay on was pulled open, and an older gentleman stood on the other side holding a clipboard._

 _"Mr. Stark?" He questioned, looking between the caressing couple before him._

 _Tony shifted his gaze from his husband to the other man in front of him. "Yes, that's me. Is this about Pepper?"_

 _"Yes, sir. Please, if you could come with me?" He motioned for Tony to follow him._

Oh god this can't be good, _Tony thought to himself as he reluctantly pulled himself from Steve's arms, but grabbed his hand and pulled him with him. They followed the doctor in to a private room, and the doctor closed the door behind them._

 _"Mr. Stark, my name is Dr. Robertson. I'm afraid I don't have any good news for you. We have all of Miss Potts' scans back. She has a great deal of internal bleeding, and several broken bones that will need to be set in surgery. There is a great deal of damage to her heart and lungs, which will require extensive surgery, possibly even bypass to repair completely. However, to perform coronary bypass surgery, there is specific drugs that they need to administer. Drugs that are harmful to the foetus. We can try and repair as much as we can, but we may have to deliver the baby by emergency caesarean. There may not be time to consult you once we start the surgery, so I need to know now what you would like for us to do?" The doctor was straight with them, he needed them to know just how serious the situation was._

 _"Why are you asking me?" Tony asked._

 _"According to her medical records, Miss Potts has you listed as her emergency contact, and her medical power of attorney, in the event that she cannot make decisions herself. She hadn't regained consciousness after the paramedics revived her in the ambulance, and we have her sedated now."_

 _"They had to revive her?"_

 _"Ah, I was under the impression that you knew about that. Yes, her heart stopped while she was being transported here, and it took around 15 minutes for the paramedics to get it beating again. At this point, we don't know if there will be any lasting damage-". The doctor was cut off by his pager beeping at him from his waist band. He looked at the message and nearly swore under his breath. "Mr. Stark, I'm afraid I don't have the luxury of time to be delicate with this. Miss Potts has went in to premature labour, she is on her way up to surgery now. We will take her straight in to surgery after the baby is delivered. The head of Paediatric medicine will be on standby in case anything happens with the baby, and to assess what the next steps are."_

 _"Can't you stop the labour? She's only at 30 weeks, the baby is too small to come out yet. Please, they need more time, they aren't strong enough right now," Steve begged._

 _"There is a great deal of pelvic bleeding, meaning the baby may be in great distress and need to be delivered anyway. Anything we do at this stage to try stop the labour, puts both mother and baby at risk," Dr Robertson replied._

 _The superhero husbands looked at each other, trying to figure out what to do._

 _Tony turned to the waiting doctor, "do whatever you need to. Save them both, please."_


	6. Chapter 6

_"Can't you stop the labour? She's only at 30 weeks, the baby is too small to come out yet. Please, they need more time, they aren't strong enough right now," Steve begged._

 _"There is a great deal of pelvic bleeding, meaning the baby may be in great distress and need to be delivered anyway. Anything we do at this stage to try stop the labour, puts both mother and baby at risk," Dr Robertson replied._

 _The superhero husbands looked at each other, trying to figure out what to do._

 _Tony turned to the waiting doctor, "do whatever you need to. Save them both, please."_

 _**********************************************************************************Present Day_

Natasha Romanoff had been through things like this before. She was a trained assassin, after all, it came with the territory. She recognised the familiar feelings of some sort of anaesthetics beginning to leave her system. She knew that someone had managed to catch her off-guard. _Fuck._ She called upon her training to remain as motionless as possible as she tried to take in as much about her surroundings as she could with her eyes closed, as well as think back to the events before the darkness. _Okay, tied to a wooden chair, bound at the ankles and the wrists._ _No access to any of my gear._ _Cold breeze fleeting across my shoulders, so no Tac suit anymore._ _At least I'm still wearing some clothes, that's a bonus I guess._ _Breathing._ _Heavy breathing._ _Someone else is being held with me, and they haven't woken up yet._ _What the hell was I doing before this impromptu party invite?_ _Think, Nat, think!_ As she tried to trudge through the fuzzy memories of the events of the day, she remained completely still, her head still bowed over. She wasn't going to let anyone know that she was awake and responsive before she needed to. _Right, let's see._ _Morning run, breakfast, then shower. Clint being an arse._ _Nothing out of the ordinary._ _Making lunch with Steve, talking about Charlie's birthday party in a couple of weeks._ _Steve saying he'll attempt at retrieving Tony from the workshop._ _Good luck with that Super Soldier._ _The alarm to Assemble._ _Who were we fighting this time?_ _Oh, God, my head is pounding._ _What the hell did they give me?_ _Focus, Natasha!_

All of a sudden, there was a sound from behind her. Lots of locks being turned, then a heavy metal door being pushed open. She could detect two sets of footsteps entering her new accommodation. _Heavy boots, most likely steel toe capped._ _Ouch._ _Gravel floor, underground maybe?_

"How long do you reckon they will be out for? I want to play…" Said the man furthest from Natasha.

"Relax, we'll have plenty of time to play later. Once they wake up, we need to make sure they're camera ready," another male said from directly behind her.

 _Oh, I don't like where this is going._ _Ok, you can do this Natasha._ _Do whatever it takes to survive._ _The team will find you, and everything will be fine._ _Just be glad it's you and not Charl-._ _FUCK._ _Charlie._ _She came down just before the end of the battle._ _We were together before, the darkness._ _Why can't I remember what happened?! Please, God, let Charlie have managed to get away to safety._ Something told Natasha she wasn't that lucky.

She suddenly felt her hair being fisted and her head being dragged backwards, lifting her face in to the light.

"So pretty. What to do to you first?" The original man spoke in her ear. "We're going to have to come up with something new and interesting for you, Red. You've been around the block a few times, and I want this to be memorable for you." Natasha could hear the sneer and disdain dripping from his voice. "As for your friend over there, something tells me that she is a little more innocent than you are. But I'm sure we will all have a lot of fun in educating her," he finished with a small kiss below Natasha's ear. It took everything in her not to recoil away, or to throw up.

"Sir, Director Fury has instructed me to inform you and the Captain that Master Thor has been recovered from the wreckage, and he is awaiting transport to the hellicarrier," Jarvis' voice sounded softly through Tony and Steve's compartment.

"Thanks, J. Do you know how he's doing?" Tony questioned.

"He has awoken, and appears to be stable," came the smooth reply.

"Has anyone told him what is happening? With, Charlie and Nat?" Steve asked.

"Not currently, Captain. Director Fury believed it would be better coming from yourself and Master Stark, but wished to wait until he was assessed by the medic team and given the all clear."

"Makes sense. Jarvis, tell Fury we're on our way up to the bridge. I want to go through everything we have from this morning. I want Charlie home, now."

"Certainly, Captain," came the cool response.

Tony rose from the bed and grabbed his StarkPhone and StarkPad from the desk. When he turned round, Steve was sat on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands, elbows resting on his knees. Tony sat next to him and wrapped an arm around the broad shoulders of his husband. "We'll find her. And Nat. And as soon as we do, we won't let her out of our sight, ever again." He punctuated his statement with a kiss to Steve's temple.

"I hate not knowing. Not knowing where they are, who has them, what they are doing to them. Why they took them," Steve sighed.

"I know babe. Trust me, I know. Come on, let's go see what Fury and Hill have, and then go from there. We have to start somewhere. We can't keep sitting here, we'll lose our minds with worry." At this, Tony stood and held out his hand to his husband. Steve looked in to the pools of caramel in his husbands' eyes. The same eyes as Charlie. He could see all the pain and anguish swirling in them, and knew that it was taking all of Tony's strength to not slip in to a catatonic state. Taking a deep breath, he grasped the genius' hand and stood from his seat on the bed.

When they walked back on the bridge, Clint and Bruce were sat at the conference table with Fury.

"Tell us everything," Tony demanded before they took their seats. He wasn't going to waste any more time in the search for his missing daughter and team mate.

"I'm afraid we don't have anything new since you left to get cleaned up. We have gone over every pixel of the footage, and nothing," Fury stated.

"So, we still don't know who this guy is, who he works for, where he is, or why he wanted Charlie and Nat?" the billionaire questioned. "Are you fucking kidding me?! We are the most advanced intelligence organisation, in the world, and you can't tell me who the fuck has my daughter? Really?" Tony's voice was getting louder as he spoke, prompting Steve to rest a hand on his shoulder and squeeze gently.

"Tony, calm down. You getting upset isn't going to help anyone. Least of all Charlie and Natasha."

"I can't calm down Steve. Charlie has been taken. Our baby, has been kidnapped. She is being held somewhere. Being tortured and ra-," Tony had to stop himself. He couldn't think too much about what Charlie was going through. He had been through it all before himself. He knew in great detail what they were more than likely doing to their baby girl, and had to try and compartmentalise his thoughts and feelings, otherwise he would be lost to his demons and then be less than useless in bringing the girls back safely. "You're right. I'm sorry." He placed his hand in top of Steve's and held on tight.

"At this point, it's pretty much a waiting game. We need to wait till they contact us and let us know what they want," Bruce stated.

"But that could take forever. Who knows how long they are going to try and drag this out for!" Clint burst out. "We need to get out there, and start looking them. I can't sit around here for god knows how long, waiting till those asses get bored and decide to include us in their sick little game. We need to get them home,"

"Barton, you need to calm down. We all need to just, take a breath, and calm down. The Captain is right, us getting upset isn't going to help anyone.," Fury ordered.

"Calm down? You expect me to be calm?" Clint exclaimed. "Someone has taken Natasha and Charlie, and we have not one clue on how to get them back. Natasha is my _best friend._ And Charlie-." He stopped at the look of looks of varying looks of confusion he was receiving from the men around the table. "I'm not going to sit around like a spare part, waiting for something to happen. Nat managed to get a message through to us when Ultron took her to Sokovia, there's nothing to say she isn't trying to do the same thing again now. Our only saving grace for Charlie is that Nat is with her. Nat will do anything in her power to keep her safe. To stop whatever group of savages that have them hurt Charlie too much. Nat has been through it all before. She was trained to deal with all sorts by the Red Room. She was taught how to use her body to get information, but also how to survive if a situation turns like this. Charlie doesn't have that training," Clint finished, leaning back in his chair dejectedly.

Steve turned his attention to his husband, utter panic written across his face. Looking in to his lovers' eyes, he could see that Tony's thoughts were running parallel to Clint's. Natasha knew how to handle this kind of situation. Charlie didn't, and that put her in even more danger. If she fought back too much, they may kill her, and if she manages to survive what they put her through physically, it would be a whole other story for her mentally and emotionally. Yes, Charlie was a fighter, she had mastered every aspect of her training. But this was something she was never trained for.

Suddenly, there was a commotion from one of the desks to the side of the conference table. Maria Hill ran up and on to the platform where the men were gathered. "Sir, we have an incoming communication."

"Audio, video? What are we dealing with? Get a trace on it too. I want to know where they are, now." The director ordered.

"Just audio, Sir. We are running the trace now."

All of a sudden, a young voice filtered through the sound system, full of fear and pain.

"Daddy, Papa? Help me…"

 **A/N - I'm back! Sorry for the sudden and extended hiatus, but I was in a pretty bad car accident a couple of months ago, and still getting over some stuff from that, alongside other personal issues. Really hope you guys like this new chapter. Again, I would love to hear all your thoughts and opinions. If anyone has any suggestions as to where they would like to see the story go, just leave a review and it might make it's way in there :)**


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